Article Talk: Emotions of Cancer: Shock

I found out about my brother's cancer second hand from an insurance agent who met with him the week before. He offered his condolences, assuming that we knew. Shock is the only word to describe the air being sucked out of the room. Not one to discuss his health issues, it was several weeks later that I found out he had brain surgery to remove a tumor, traced back to his lungs, that were already stage 4 metastatic. That was the first shock. The second was the inability to get his pain under control. I lost faith in the medical community's ability to treat the whole patient. Not just the cancer. We never stopped advocating for him, and with the help of a neurosurgeon, were able to knock down his pain. The final shock came with the news that his treatment was being discontinued. He lost his battle, and we still Can't believe he is gone. Six months later, We're still adjusting.